swarm

1 of 3

noun

ˈswȯrm 

1

a

: a great number of honeybees emigrating together from a hive in company with a queen to start a new colony elsewhere

b

: a colony of honeybees settled in a hive

2

a

: a large number of animate or inanimate things massed together and usually in motion : throng

swarms of sightseers

a swarm of locusts

a swarm of meteors

b

: a number of similar geologic features or phenomena close together in space or time

a swarm of dikes

an earthquake swarm

swarm

2 of 3

verb (1)

swarmed; swarming; swarms

intransitive verb

1

: to form and depart from a hive in a swarm

2

a

: to move or assemble in a crowd : throng

b

: to hover about in the manner of a bee in a swarm

3

: to contain a swarm : teem

swarming with bugs

transitive verb

1

: to fill with a swarm

2

: to beset or surround in a swarm

players swarming the quarterback

swarmer noun

swarm

3 of 3

verb (2)

swarmed; swarming; swarms

intransitive verb

: to climb with the hands and feet

specifically : shin

swarm up a pole

transitive verb

: to climb up : mount

Synonyms

Noun

• army
• bike [chiefly Scottish]
• cram
• crowd
• crush
• drove
• flock
• herd
• horde
• host
• legion
• mass
• mob
• multitude
• press
• rout
• scrum
• throng

Verb (1)

• crowd
• flock
• mob
• throng

Verb (2)

• clamber
• climb
• scrabble
• scramble

Examples of swarm in a Sentence

Noun

a swarm of tourists descends upon the island every summer

Verb (1)

meeting little resistance, the pirates swarmed the decks of the merchant ship

at this time of year that Mexican resort swarms with college students on spring break

Verb (2)

one of the physical challenges had competitors swarming over a pile of logs

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The game tells the story of a future Earth long after catastrophe—in the form of an autonomous robotic swarm—has ruined the planet. —Nate Anderson, Ars Technica, 20 Dec. 2024

These new bots swarm websites not to catalog content but to feed that content to AI, a technology that threatens to replace search as the default means of online discovery (and does so by digesting and regurgitating the content in a monstrous, unciteable form). —Longreads, 19 Dec. 2024

Verb

After being confronted by several neighbors and pulling a gun in response, Irish was swarmed by an angry crowd just as police came to arrest him on July 8. —Leonard Greene, New York Daily News, 28 Dec. 2024

The vicious gang has taken advantage of a lax southern border under the Biden-Harris administration, with many of its foot soldiers swarming the U.S. and unleashing hell on unsuspecting communities. —Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 20 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English, from Old English swearm; akin to Old High German swaram swarm and probably to Latin susurrus hum

Verb (2)

origin unknown

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Verb (2)

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Phrases Containing swarm

• swarm spore

Kids Definition

swarm

1 of 2 noun

ˈswȯ(ə)rm 

1

: a great number of honeybees leaving together from a hive with a queen to start a new colony elsewhere

also : a colony of honeybees settled in a hive

2

: a large number grouped together and usually in motion

swarms of sightseers

a swarm of meteors

swarm

2 of 2 verb

1

: to form and leave a hive in a swarm

2

: to move or gather in a swarm : throng

spectators swarmed into the stadium

3

: to contain or fill with a swarm